Let’s Protect Our Mission and Our Future by Working Together
Get the Facts
We want you to have all the information you need to make an informed personal decision about union membership and collective bargaining. At this point, you may have already received information and/or heard rumors about unionization and your legal rights. We encourage you to closely review all the facts and ensure you have a full, accurate picture of what union representation could mean for you. Important Information for Edward Ambulance Service Professional Staff (i.e., EMTs, Paramedics, Critical Care Paramedics and others). Recently, the Teamsters Union, Local 743, filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking the right to represent EAS professional staff in collective bargaining with EAS leaders. The union wants an election and to win the right to represent full-time and part-time EMTs, Paramedics, Critical Care Paramedics, drivers and others at EAS. Note: Teamsters, Local 743, did the same thing to Elite Ambulance in July 2023. It’s important that you consider all the facts as you learn more about union representation — including how the collective bargaining process works, what you should know about union promises, the costs of union membership and the potential risks for the communities we serve.
If EAS professional staff vote to unionize with the Teamsters, the Teamsters and Edward Ambulance Service would engage in collective bargaining in an effort to reach a contract agreement regarding wages, benefits, and working conditions for EAS employees. During this process, EAS leaders would negotiate in good faith. But good-faith bargaining doesn’t mean you would automatically get anything more than you have now. Collective bargaining can be like a tug-of-war – difficult, time consuming and with an uncertain outcome. In the end, you could end up with more, the same things you have now, or even less than you have now. In collective bargaining, nothing is automatic or guaranteed.
During the union’s campaign to win your support, you might hear rumors about the union’s ability to deliver certain results (i.e., more money, better benefits, etc.). Union promises are part of a carefully crafted union sales pitch which is designed to convince you to support, elect and pay the union for their representation services. Union organizers can promise you anything, but they have no legal way to guarantee any of their promises.
The Teamsters charge members about $50.00 in monthly dues (or $600.00 per year). The following table shows how much money the Teamsters could collect in union dues from EAS staff every year and over the life of a typical three-year agreement. These figures could explain the union’s motivation for targeting EAS employees for organizing.
As the table above indicates, EAS professional staff could end up being expected to pay Teamsters $36,000.00 every year (or over $108,000.00 over the life of a typical three-year contract).
When collective bargaining breaks down, unions often call their members out on strike in an effort to force management to agree to union demands. Healthcare strikes are disruptive and put patients and communities at risk. We feel strongly that our staff and patients are better served when leaders and professional staff work together (as team members rather than opponents) to support our patients and communities.
Collective bargaining means collective treatment. Through good-faith bargaining, a union and management negotiate a contract that must then be applied to all bargaining unit members equally, without exception. Today, without a union between us, we can work together to create a work experience that works for everyone. Under a union, you might be subject to the terms of a collective bargaining agreement that could include potential restrictions which could be different compared to how things are now. If you like the flexibility we now enjoy, you could be disappointed if this was no longer an option under a union contract. The possibility of losing the flexibility you now have to work with your supervisor (for example, determining schedules and hours of work) is just one example of how unionization and the uncertainties of collective bargaining could negatively impact your work experience at EAS.
Just like they did when they targeted Elite Ambulance Service last year, the Teamsters want you to elect them with no guarantee that you will get anything more. In fact, with the Teamsters between us we could all end up a lot worse off – just like the folks at Elite. But consider this: You can vote “no” and take 12 months to work with EAS leaders. During that 12-month period you could wait and see if the union is able to deliver at Elite. And, during that time we would also have the ability to keep working together to make our work experience the best it can be for all EAS staff and leaders. And, if after 12 months, you feel we have let you down the union will always be there.
Know Your Rights
We hear that Teamster organizers have told EAS professional staff, “Don’t talk to your leaders about the union issue.” This is a common union organizing tactic; union organizers don’t want you to hear anything that doesn’t support the union’s narrative. This includes facts about what is happening at Elite.
It’s critical that you know your rights and fully understand the realities of union representation. As an Edward Ambulance Service professional employee, you have the right to:
- Learn the facts about unionization, including facts the union might not want you to know.
- Talk or refuse to talk about the union with coworkers (as long as these discussions do not interfere with your work or the work of others).
- Attend or decline invitations to union meetings (online or in-person).
- Attend or decline invitations to union social media groups.
- Talk with your manager, coworkers, and others about the union.
- Ask your manager or HR any questions you may have about the union. If your manager does not know the answer, they will find out for you or put you in contact with someone who does.
- Protect your privacy; you are not required to give the union your personal information.
Frequently
Asked Questions
Find the answers to top questions below. Have questions you don’t see answered here? Submit yours below!
Not much. Local 743 has not historically represented EMTs and Paramedics. In fact, we believe that employees at Elite Ambulance Service (Elite) may be the only private ambulance EMTs and paramedics represented by Local 743.
No. Here are facts to know about the situation with the Teamsters, Local 743, at Elite:
- In July 2023, Teamsters, Local 743, filed a petition to represent about 60 employees at Elite’s location at 4309 S. Morgan in Chicago, Illinois.
- After four months of legal wrangling the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finally held an election at Elite’s Chicago location. Employees narrowly voted in favor of the union (32 to 25). To our knowledge Elite’s employees are the ONLY private ambulance workers represented by Local 743.
- The Teamsters have been the legal representative for Elite’s employees in Chicago for over one year – but the union is reportedly not even close to reaching an agreement.
- Now we hear that Elite is closing down some operations and laying off professional staff.
We urge you to protect yourself and your future. Ask the Teamsters to provide you with a written, legally binding guarantee that if they fail to deliver on their promises, the union will make you whole.
Yes. In 2013, a union (the International Union of EMTs and Paramedics or IAEP) targeted our employees at Superior-Metro Ambulance Service (Metro) in Cicero, Illinois. Here are the facts about what happened at Metro in Cicero:
- In November 2013, the IAEP targeted and organized employees at Superior-Metro Ambulance Service (Metro) in Cicero, Illinois.
- It took more than 6 months for the parties to meet for the first time to begin good-faith bargaining.
- Despite Superior’s good-faith bargaining, negotiations dragged on for two years; an agreement was finally reached in late 2016.
- Employees at Superior-Metro received lower wage increases (only 2%, per year) while bargaining was ongoing (as compared to what other non-union Metro employees received).
- Superior-Metro employees in Cicero also ended up paying much more for healthcare (32% more on average).
- In the end, the union failed to deliver on their promises of “more” and “better”; after two years of bargaining, employees ended up with basically the same terms and conditions of employment (but with much higher healthcare costs).
- Despite these bargaining outcomes, employees at Superior-Metro had to pay union dues of about $600 per year just to keep their jobs at Superior-Metro.
The Superior-Metro experience informs our position regarding unions and our feeling that collective bargaining can have a destructive and divisive influence on our teams.
No. That’s not what happened at Superior-Metro Ambulance Service, and it doesn’t appear to be what is happening at Elite Ambulance Service.
Union organizers often promise employees that, with the union representing them, they will get more of everything. But these statements are just promises, not guarantees; union organizers have no legal way of guaranteeing you anything.
If you elect the union, EAS leaders would negotiate in good faith. But that doesn’t mean you would automatically get more of anything (i.e., pay, benefits, etc.).
We respect your right to consider union membership; if you elect the union, we would bargain in good faith, just like we did at Superior-Metro in Cicero, Illinois.
But we prefer collaboration and flexibility over the conflict and confusion that often accompanies collective bargaining. EAS strives to maintain a positive and satisfying work environment for all employees, one in which employees do not see representation by an external third-party as needed or desirable.
Simply put, we feel it is better to deal collaboratively with one another when it comes to wages, hours, holiday and vacation schedules, and other terms and conditions of employment. And we think this model is better for the patients and communities who rely on us.
We think a direct relationship between employees and leaders is best because it enables us to emphasize communication and teamwork, encourage performance, promote flexibility, and promote high engagement.
No one knows or can predict the outcome of collective bargaining; however, if you consider the experience of employees at Superior-Metro and, most recently at Elite Ambulance, you can see that unionization can result in any of the following undesirable outcomes:
- Less Flexibility: Without a union you can work things out with your manager concerning things like changes in work schedules or scheduling time off. But with a union, everyone would have to follow the union contract. Under such circumstances, managers might not be able to make individual accommodations.
- Limited rewards or recognition for good performance: Under almost every union contract, employees all get the same rewards regardless of how well they do their jobs. Unions often strongly oppose merit increase programs and could even file grievances when managers try to recognize individual employees who perform well.
- Possibly less communication with management: If a union is voted in, it will choose a few employees to be “union stewards” who speak for everyone else, and you may have to take your grievances to your steward. The union may control how your grievances are settled or adjusted, and there is no guarantee the union will get you what you want and the union would not even be required to ask management for what you want if the union doesn’t want to.
- Having to pay the union to keep your job: Union contracts in Illinois almost always say that union-represented employees are required to pay the union in order to keep their jobs. Usually, these payments come to several hundred dollars a year (or more) and these payments are required even if the union doesn’t get you a contract that provides better pay or benefits.
- Possible Strikes: We would never want a strike at EAS; however, if Local 743 is elected and ever called you out on strike, EAS would stop paying your wages and benefits and EAS would have the legal right during an economic strike to hire “permanent replacements.”
No. We’re sharing facts, information, and opinions about unionization to help you make an informed decision about unionization. We encourage you to do your own research. More than anything, we want every employee to feel fully informed and able to make a personal decision based on facts, not on union promises or peer pressure.
No, that is false. If you were employed at EAS on December 8, 2024, as a full- or regular part-time EMT, Paramedic, Critical Care Paramedic, gatekeeper, driver or EMS coordinator, you are eligible to vote in the election. We want every eligible voter to vote because only those who vote have a voice in the outcome.
The outcome of the election will be determined by those who actually vote. So, while there are approximately 56 EAS employees eligible to vote, if only 20 vote and 11 vote for the Teamsters, then the union would win the right to represent all EAS employees in the voting unit (even those who did not vote or voted no).
Please don’t allow yourself to be manipulated by union supporters; statements like this are standard union tactics intended to manipulate employees into voting for a union.
The truth is that it would be against the law for EAS to retaliate against union supporters and it is something we would never do.
We have worked hard to make our work experience the best it can be for our patients and employees. And, while we have made great strides working together, we know there is always room for improvement.
Edwards Ambulance Service (EAS), like most other private ambulance companies, faces myriad challenges including workforce shortages and financial pressures. We understand employees may be searching for answers to their concerns – but we don’t feel unionization is the answer.
While unionization might seem like a “quick fix.” In truth, collective bargaining is often like a tug-of-war; time-consuming, difficult and with an uncertain outcome. Many unionized workers have experienced firsthand the negative impacts collective bargaining can have when, for example, collective bargaining breaks down and their union calls them out on strike.
Rather than putting everything we currently have at risk in collective bargaining, we believe it is better to work together to solve problems….as employees rather than opponents.
Connect & Learn More
Do you have questions or comments about information on this site? Want to learn more about what this election could mean for you and your colleagues? We want to hear from you! Let us know what’s on your mind and check back soon for updates.
Submit your question via email [email protected].
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